Barnabas Kinney of Scotland and NY

The following is an attempt to put down the information I have on Barnabas Kinney of NY and his descendants. I will try to include sources of information and there are some speculations and questions. Any comments or correction are appreciated.

Barnabas Mc(Mac)Kinney was the first to come to America. He was from Scotland.J.H. Beers’ “History of the counties of McKean, Elk and Potter PA”in the bio of Capt. Levi Kinney says, “Barnabas Kinney Sr., a native of Scotland”.Levi’s obit says the same thing.Other information I have comes from the minutes of the Kinney reunions which were held in Mckean Co., PA and Steuben Co., NY. These were first held in 1896.All ofthe children of Barnabas Kinney Jr were dead at this time but three of the spouses of his children were alive and attended several of the reunions. I assume that the minutes were written by his grandchildren.I have a copy of the early minutes elsewhere in this forum.The minutes state that “the Kinney family are of Scottish decent, having emigrated from Scotland to Ireland [this may be a mistake, as it is the only mention of Ireland I have seen in all the information I have] from whencethree brothers came to New York. The name was originally MacKinney but after coming, two of the brothers threw off the Mac from their name and called themselves Kinney.One of these brothers moved south were descendants still reside and one remained in New York where our grandfather BarnabasKinney, Jr was born 10 days after the Declaration of Independence.”

Here is some speculation.Oral histories being notorious for some inaccuracies and the writing of these minutes being several generations removed from the actual occurrences, I think that it may have been four brothers instead of three which came to America.It seems easy to go from Barnabas and three brothers to just three brothers. There is a Kinney family in North Carolina with a strikingly similar history. The information comes from “A Kinney Family History in Ron & Ann Kinney’s Family Tree Homepage” and “History of the Ausbands and related Kin in North Carolina”. I got both of these off the internet.It states, “William McKinney who later changed his name to Kinney is said to have come from Scotland”.“William Kinney and Three Brothers, Christian, Richard and __?___ came from Scotland to New York in the 1750s where they bought several parcels of land. … William Married Sally Parks, Chistian married Katherine Smith, Richard married Matilda____.One brother _____ Kinney stayed in New York.North Carolina descendants of the three Kinney brothers periodically visited the New York Kinneys until the Civil War days”

These brothers bought land in New York City (pop abt. 25,000 at the time) and some of William’s land is part of what is Central Park today.The “Minutes of the Common Council of the State of NY” for the year 1752 lists a “Barnes McKenny Labourer admitted and sworn a Freeman” and Barne McKinne asconstable for the Bowery section of New York and that “said Barne Mckenny was on the 10th of this instant month of October elected constable for said Bowery Division.”If this is our Barnabas Kinney Sr. ( later generations of Barnabas Kinney were known as Barney) it places him at the same location and time as William, Christian andRichard.End of speculation.

Barnabas Sr. later moved to Hillsdale, Columbia Co., NY where Barnabas Jr. was born 14 July 1776.I do not know the name of Barnabas Sr’s wife or other children.I have seen lists of children for Barnabas Kinney but they usually give the birth date of Barnabas Jr as about 1795.Is this a different family of Barnabas Kinney Sr., perhaps the son of Stephen Kinney and Pricilla Herrick?

Several sources (Beers, Levi Kinney’s obit) state that Barnabas Kinney Sr served through the Revolutionay war.A Barnabas Kinney is listed as being wounded at the battle of Fort Griswald, New London CT in Sept. 6, 1781.Might this be our Barnabas Sr.?The obit of Levi Kinney states that Barnabas Sr. “was a pioneer settler of Sodus, Wayne Co., NY. Though exempt from duty, he raised a company at Sodus to participate in the war of 1812.”So the family had moved to Sodus sometime prior to 1812.They may have spent time in Green Co., NY on the way to Sodus.This is the last I have on Barnabas Sr.Somewhere around Sodus seems like a good place to look for his burial.

Barnabas Kinney Jr., as stated earlier was born 14 July 1776 in Hillsdale, Columbia Co., NY.He married Naamah Holcomb (1780-1871), also of Hillsdale.She was the daughter of Return Holcomb Jr. (Return, Thomas, Joshua) and Hannah Niles.They moved with the family to Sodus and it is likely that most of their children were born there.Around 1827, they moved to Steuben Co., NY.In the “History of Jasper, Steuben Co., NY”Barnabas jr. is listed as being at the organizational meeting for that town on the first Tuesday of March 1827 and he is listed as a “pathmaster”.He died at Woodhull, Steuben Co., NY in 1846 and is buried at Five Corners Cemetery in Jasper.His wife Naamah later went to live with her daughter and son-in-law Melinda and Dugold Winship on Annin Creek in Mckean Co., PA.She died there21 Jan 1871 and is Buried in Annin Creek Cemetery.